Saturday, July 21, 2012

The Party is on. It’s
heating up over here in every way imaginable, and for the sake of our
respective cultural futures, in many ways I hope no sane person possibly could. Come September, a lot of summer time partiers
will confront soul-baring reflections on more than a few moments of their time
on Mykonos. But for now it’s all about baring everything
else.

Here you’re overdressed if more than 12% of your body is
hidden. Okay, I’m exaggerating, it’s
12.5% and that measurement only applies if you’re human and between the ages of
18 and 25.

We, who represent multiples of that class, should be
required by law to keep 125% covered at all times.

The tough part of writing all this is getting
photographs. I’m uneasy about traipsing
along the beach with a camera snapping photographs, especially with so many The
Hulk-size folks likely to take offense. And my surreptitious iPhone snapping technique
requires work. The last time I tried I
ended up with a terrific collection of thumb shots.

So, I’ve settled on a different sort of plan: Use someone else’s photos (thank you, Dimitris
Koutsoukos, for a few) as representative of Mykonos’ hot summer life. Representative not just of the tourists who flock here, but
of the extraordinarily accepting people who live on this glorious island.

Hard to imagine anywhere in this world where locals are more
willing to allow strangers to freely turn a basically conservative island society
every which way but straight—that’s straight as in straight and narrow.

And on that segue, permit me to make a brief observation on
all the current tabloid talk about John Travolta’s recent visit here with his
wife, Kelly Preston.

Mykonos is not a “gay island.” Yes, the open nature of the Mykonian people
and the island’s two dozen glorious beaches attract a sizeable international
gay crowd—one to which the island openly acknowledges a debt of gratitude for much
of its world class flair and style—but by far most of the boys and girls who
party here are interested in cross-pollinating.

Now that I’ve hopefully offended all genders, let me put up
a few more photographs to make sure I’ve effectively nailed my coffin snuggly
shut, hopefully with the vodka inside.

Funny you should ask, Lil. I've always been amazed at the transformation the island experiences. From now through the first week of August the average tourist age is in the 20's, for the the second through third weeks the 30's, then into the 40's for the fourth, and on to the 50's and beyond come September.